Pages

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Covington v. Robinson case brief

Covington v. Robinson case brief summary
723 S.W.2d 643 (1986)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Plaintiff prospective purchasers of land
appealed a judgment of the Circuit Court of Shelby County
(Tennessee), which granted the motion of defendant farm management
company for summary judgment in the prospective purchasers' action to
recover the earnest money they lost when the sale did not go through.

CASE FACTSThe prospective purchasers' contract
called for them to obtain financing for 75 percent of the purchase
price. However, they were only able to obtain 73.89 percent of the
purchase price, so they refused to go through with the sale. The farm
management company kept the earnest money deposit of the prospective
purchasers, claiming that a breach had occurred. The purchasers sued
to recover the earnest money deposit.

DISCUSSION

The court found that the trial
court was in error in holding that the obtaining of a loan in the
amount of 73.98 percent was substantial performance which excused the
non-occurrence of the condition precedent.

However, it held that the
trial court's finding of lack of reasonable diligence or good faith
was proper.

Asking for a "maximum loan" and actually
applying for a loan 1.2 percent short of what was required by the
contract, and never at anytime specifically requesting the 75 percent
in order to make the deal, together with no request for the
additional amount after the 73.98 percent was approved, was
sufficient evidence of lack of good faith.

The judgment in favor of
the farm management company was affirmed.

CONCLUSION
The judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment to the
farm management company was affirmed in the prospective purchasers'
action to recover their earnest money.Suggested law school study materials
Shop Amazon for the best prices on Law School Course Materials.

No comments:

Post a Comment

ShareThis

.

I have often tried to make the cases available as links in case you are a student without a textbook.

All the information on this site is constantly updated and edited. Furthermore, if you have any outlines you want to share, so that others, free of charge, may benefit, please send those to be posted here. Likewise, if you have case briefs you would like to share, please send them to [email protected].

Please keep in mind that this site makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the cases listed here or the current status of law. These cases are derived from class notes and laws change over time. If you have any questions about these materials, or any other legal questions, you should consult an attorney who is a member of the bar of the state you reside in.